A common question in the recruitment industry is “When is the best time of the year to hire a quality candidate?” The majority of answers to this question tend to advise that January is the best month to find top candidates. This makes sense on a surface level, as The January Blues is a well-documented phenomenon, however, we here at Halecroft have found that in our experience, clients who search in Autumn are more satisfied with their hires for a variety of reasons.

One reason for this is the fact that there is a lot of competition in January. There are more companies hiring at this time of the year. Depending on your industry, this could mean that you are competing for the same high-quality candidates, which gives the candidate a lot more power during negotiations and could lead to you giving away a larger package than you intended.

While the January rush could lead to you overpaying for a quality candidate, it may also mean that you struggle to find one in the first place. More people looking for jobs means that you will have more CVs to sift through and could leave you wasting time interviewing unqualified candidates while your competitors are snapping up your ideal person.

Starting your search for the ideal candidate in the Autumn is a great way to prove to the candidate that you are right for them. Many people want to start a new job in the New Year and roles at the top level can have up to a three-month notice period. This means that the best talent out there is currently searching for a new role, ready to be scooped up by a smart and organised business. 

It’s not only candidates that benefit from the timing of an Autumn hire. The Autumn months are also the perfect time to take on a time-consuming project like headhunting. Most companies find they are at the ideal midpoint between the skeleton-staffed Summer and the seasonal storm of the Christmas period to really dedicate their time to a thorough search.

Finally, September has a unique advantage that a risk-taking hiring company can take advantage of to possibly find a hidden gem of a potential recruit. September is the start of the school year, which means that every year there is a wave of stay-at-home parents who are now ready to get back into the workforce. These are people who could have spent anywhere from two to eleven years away from their career and are now ready to come back. Most people will not head straight back to their previous level, which means that you could land an experienced candidate who will excel at the role and could potentially have a long, fulfilling career with the business while needing very little support.

If you are looking to hire your next star employee this Autumn, Halecroft Recruitment has all of the experience and skills that you need to ensure that we deliver recruitment that you can rely on!